March 20: The floor is done!

Dad and Nate worked really hard on the floor all day and got it done late at night. It looks amazing. At first I was concerned that the color would be too light, but it has dark grain that works with the existing wood in the room. Also, it really brightens up the room. They did a great job going around the fireplace and finishing the floor in the numerous door frames and crawl space.

I went to the apartment and packed another car load. Then I brought it back to the house and unpacked. Then I dusted, cleaned, and polished all of the trim on the top level and part of the main level of the house. It was so dirty.

Mom spent the day doing a few touch-ups from where it was scraped during the carpet installation process. Then she finished the kitchen!!! She could be heard singing "ding dong, the fugly green is gone...". What a transformation. The cupboards are so much happier now with a complimenting color palate. We painted two colors to make the long eat-in kitchen seem more like two rooms: a dining room, and a kitchen. The kitchen still needs more attention. The previous owners aparently used the counter tops as cutting boards so they need to be replaced sometime soon. I would also like a new sink as this one is not very efficient. The drains are on the side of the basin, not centered, and the bottom is flat so nothing goes down the drain without quite a bit of coaxing.

We got so much accomplished today.

March 19: They're Back!

I stayed home from work again and packed more boxes/rubber bins in the morning before heading over to the house. Once I got there, I unpacked them. Then I did a deep clean on the bathroom that we would be using. Our one functioning bathroom out of the three. I conquered the dirt and dust! Dad came in the afternoon and we prepped the basement floor for the laminate by scraping any raised concrete and vacuuming the resulting dust. As soon as Nate got home, they laid the plastic and got to work! Mom came later with Lex after their shopping trip in Mankato. Then Mom and I went back to the apartment to pack more necessities for the weekend.

March 18: The Move

The move: phase 1 of many, many trips.

I stayed home from work to start packing. I packed a bunch of boxes worth. I can't believe how much stuff we have. At least some of it is still packed: we have 15 bins already packed up and sitting on our balcony. I'm a little nervous to open them up. They've been exposed to the elements since we moved here last March. Oh well, it's stuff we don't really use anyway.

We also got our ducts cleaned today.

When Nate got home from work, we packed up our recliner and couch and brought them over to the house. Then we came back and got our bed and box spring and brought it over to the house. Mom and Dad are coming up this weekend and we want to start living at the house so that we don't waste time commuting. Plus, now I'm just getting really excited about the house.

March 17: Carpet!

Our carpet was laid! Nate went to the house to see it and was really happy. Then he drove to Osseo to trade our Maxima for a friend's truck for the day so we could move our big stuff over to the house! I'm so excited. I had a long day at work and had to stay late. When we got home, it was 8 so we called it a night and watched a movie instead of starting the move.

March 16: Pad

The pad for the carpet was laid! Nate said it really brightened the whole house. I can't wait for the carpet! Nate cleaned some more vents outside and then called it an early night.

March 15: Clean!

After work, I spent the evening scrubbing the whole fireplace. It was pretty dusty. I also did more touch up painting on the trim. I am not in love with painters tape. Paint can seep under it and it is hard to peel off sometimes.

Nate brought over his motorcycle, grilled us steaks, and vacuumed the whole house (vacuumed the concrete with the shop vac) so it's ready for the carpet.

March 14: Day of Work

What a beautiful day! It was 60 and sunny-- perfect day for working outside. Nate cleaned out the gutters and some vents on the outside of the house. He also cut down a bush and trimmed a tree.

I stayed inside and did some touch up painting and finished painting the trim in the bathroom.

Together we cleaned out everything in the rooms that were going to be carpeted.

Then Nate showed me his pride and joy: the crawl space. I totally don't understand his fascination with it. There was talk about making it a wine cellar, man cave... He's been trying to show me for a while, but I don't really like crawling around on my knees on cement so I've been avoiding it. I joked that if he had a "luge" on a track that brought me in there with the touch of a button, I'd be all over it. Anyway, I crawled in there and it is actually pretty nice. Every corner is bright, the floor is clean after a couple runs of the vacuum, and there is a ton of space! We can shove all of our extra things in there so our house can be immaculate!